Volumetric brain researcher here. Volumetric decreases across development do not represent a singular causal process. Same for volumetric increases. Volumetric

Volumetric brain researcher here. Volumetric decreases across development do not represent a singular causal process. Same for volumetric increases. Volumetric changes can reflect a number of developmental processes, often concurrently and in opposite directions. I suspect that the declines in middle adulthood are not caused by the same causes of declines in the elderly, or at different stages, or a by a different mixture of causes. Here is an example from my own research on amygdala growth, headed by my colleague Derek Andrews, a great scientist and colleague.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35341582/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35341582/